


Tales of Vullunviing

by Ceris_Malfoy



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Crack, Drabbles, F/F, F/M, Female!Dragon, Ficlets, Gen, Hoarding, Multi, Olde Magick, One-Shots, and more - Freeform, how I wish things could have gone, i think, mating habits of dragons are....scary, multiple types of dragons, multiple what-if universe, mythos-bending, not in order, shape-shifters, stories added as I write them/ get inspired
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-29
Updated: 2013-02-04
Packaged: 2017-11-27 11:05:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/661261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ceris_Malfoy/pseuds/Ceris_Malfoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alduin was the first of Akatosh's many children, and commanded the respect and awe of all dragon-kin because of it. But there are those who might say that just because he was first, doesn't meant he was the most powerful, or even the most intelligent. Regardless, Alduin has returned to Skyrim, and his Thu'um has woken more than just those that served him. In Cyrodill, the last of the Greater Dragons has awoken, and she sets her sight on Skyrim, and the domination of all.</p>
<p>A series of mini-stories revolving around my Dovahkiin from my third play-through, Vullunviing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**I**

_Long have I traveled, and longer still do I have to go._

_Most of my fellow Blades think my travels folly, that my search for knowledge of the myths and legends of dragons is idiocy. What could be farther from the truth? Did not the Dragonguard of the 1st era create Alduin's wall to accumulate both the dragonlore and the prophecy as a hedge against the forgetfulness of centuries? Why should the lore of others fall into shadow?_

_And such myths!_

_The Nagal of Morrowind, the Basilisks and Cockatrices of Elsweyr, the Sand Worms of Hammerfell... the strange and varied legends of what may be commonly called 'dragons' across Tamriel are just as important as those of Skyrim. Perhaps more so, as some legends exist in defiance of those of the Nord's tales._

_Such as the legends of Cyrodill._

**II**

_After great length, I have managed to convince the Lady Adain of House Monaven of Cyrodill to allow me access to her archives. She is the last of her great family, and despite her young age and sweet temperament, she guards her home as fiercely as any full-blooded warrior I've seen. And well she should, for the knowledge and artifacts stored here are beyond priceless. Her archives contain more than just historical references to dragons - much about the Deadric Lords and the Divines are written about, as well as many books on the lineage and history of the earliest noble houses of Cyrodill.  The artwork on display in the many rooms of her abode are also priceless in their own measure. It will take me many weeks to sort through everything, but Lady Adain has been a most generous host._

**III**

_I find Cyrodillian text to be rather intriguing. For they have several names for Alduin that I have never heard before: The Black Dragon and the Kin-Slayer. Never is he actually named as Alduin, but there is too great a coincidence that this Black Dragon is also named as the First-born of Akatosh. Lady Adain's archives are full of small stories detailing the many sins Alduin had committed against his kin, and -according to Cyrodillian text - Alduin was undeserving of Lordship amongst Dragon-kin and so was cast out, his name stricken from their memory. Those that followed him, including his brother, "The Pale Liar"  (who must surely be Paarthurnax, he whom later betrayed Alduin), were similarly cast out and left to fend for themselves._

**IV**

_Every text I read references the tale of the Y Ddraig Goch - The Red Dragon. Yet despite how complete Lady Adain's archives are, there is no tale to be read. It frustrates me. I have the feeling that if I could only read this tale, I could understand why the Cyrodillians refuse to acknowledge Aludin as anything other than a nuisance amongst the dragon-kin._

**V**

_Lady Adain has been a great help to me these past few days. She has explained the legend of the Y Ddraig Goch, which is, apparaently, a purely verbal tale, passed down from family to family. There are, apparently, variations, but most agree on several key points:_

_1\. The Y Ddraig Goch was the first female dragon to be born, greater in size than even Alduin, who was largely regarded as the largest of the dragons._

_2\. While she had no Voice, the Y Ddraig Goch had something much greater - the ability to work magic, real magic. She was reputed to be able to ensnare mortal minds to do her bidding, cast great spells of lightning and frost, and even shift her shape to escape the watchful eyes of those who hunted her._

_3\. She, like all other females that came after, had a fondness for hoarding. Particularly valuable items, but the worth of the item truly mattered not - anything that gleamed and caught the eye was treasured. This was in small part because the under-belly of female dragons were supposedly exceptionally soft and smooth, and easilly penetrated by tooth and claw. They slept on beds of what was mostly armor, gold, precious stones, and weapons, their great weight forcing these items into the crevices of their scales, thus transforming their soft under-belly into impenetrable armor._

_Lady Adain has a most beautiful voice, and is most impassioned when she speaks of the Y Ddraig Goch. It is obviously a much-loved subject._

_I find myself lingering in her home by more than just my research._

**VI**

_I asked today about the children of the Y Ddraig Goch, who are likewise mentioned throughout many texts but never named. I write now her exact words:_

_"Y Ddraig Goch was a Greater Dragon, her form large, her intellect imense, her magic unstoppable. But those she bred with were not so great, and thus her children were ...weaker in some ways. The females carried on her legacy of magic in place of Voice, but with each successive generation bred the dragon-kin closer to the vile beasts they've become today, closer and closer to animals than any creature of intellect. Most of her kin were never named because a Dragon's name is his or her power - a male dragon's name is literally three Words that make up a Thu'um unique to only them. A female's name was likewise born with them, only theirs had more to do with prophecy than with anything else. Y Ddraig Goch was so named not only because of the beautiful shade of red her scales gleamed when caught in the right light, but because the bloody path of destruction and fire and death she left behind her when the Kin-Slayer sought dominion and retritution against her by killing any named female had been fortold at her hatching._

_Not many escaped either purge, and those that did feared another. Most supposedly went into hiding, working great spells on the entrace to their caves, and curling into their hoards and sleeping away the many ages. Others supposedly shifted form and integrated themselves as best they could amongst other species. In those tales, it is usually the mer they infiltrate, as the mer are longer-lived than man, and the dragon is Forever, unless killed._

_There is only one named Child of Y Ddraig Goch who still lives, as far as our tales go. Vullunviing, she is named."_

_I confessed to some confusion, for did not Lady Adain say that females were named for prophecy and doing than Words of Power? I asked her as such, but she did not answer, merely smiled at me. Perhaps she will tell me in time._

**VII**

_"Vullunviing she is named, and in her naming brought the wrath of The Kin-Slayer, for never before had a female of their species bore the name-sake of a Thu'um. Male and Female had struggled for many years; their slighter form and Voice giving the males a slight edge over the slower, bulkier forms of the females, even though they could work great Magic."_

_With the interbreeding, however, that struggle would soon turn into the female's advantage, or so Alduin apparently feared, for how could the males fight against one whose Voice was not only as great as their own, but who could shift their shape and hide amongst the prey, who could weave great enchantments and spells to befuddle their male counterparts? The females were recorded to be vicious, particularly around breeding time, and with the advantage of a Voice on top of it, no wonder Alduin sought to purge them._

_And I believe he was fully right to do so. The thought of what a Tyrant with the power of both magic and Voice could do terrifies me. Lady Adain did not smile at me when I mentioned this._

_I fear I may have overstepped some boundry with her, for as the days grow long, so do does her attitude grow chilier._

-Excerpts from the Journal of Fáfnir, Chief Archivist of the Blades during the 2nd Era.


	2. On A Cart-Ride Towards Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When she wakes, Ulfric knows it instantly.

When she wakes, Ulfric knows it instantly.

He is not looking at her; does not have to look at her to know her eyes are opening and beholding their bound, silent forms and the passing scenery. He can hear her movements, the quiet shuffle of ragged cloth against splintered wood and the slight scratching of her nails as she tests the bonds that hold her hands securely behind her.  But this sense, too, he does not need to know that she has awoken.

When he was little, he was sent to the Greybeards to learn from them. He was the youngest of the Jarl’s many sons, and the legends of High Hrothgar had always fascinated him. He had applied himself to his training there, devouring their teachings and their lore. He had spent too many quiet nights of his years there listening to the wind howl as he read through ancient tomes he’d yet to find elsewhere. He’d even met Paarthurnaax once, and would never forget the _feel_ of a living, breathing dragon.

So much power, so much strength.

But Paarthurnaax for all his power, for all his strength, did not feel the way she does. Whereas Paarthurnaax quietly radiated power, this woman sitting beside him is alight with it. There is no mistaking what Ulfric feels from this little Imperial sitting so calm next to him; no mistaking the faint, lingering odor of dragon-fire and Olde Magick, no mistaking the heavy, watchful air of a predator considering its prey.

So, yes, Ulfric already knows what is sitting bound but not even remotely helpless besides him, no matter how innocent and helpless her guise may be. She is a dragon, a _dov_ , and that is all he needs to know. And in this knowing there is fear, for he is but a man, and though he is greatly skilled in combat, he has only ever learned one word of a _Thu’um_ and that will not be enough.

Not against a she-dragon.

So he sits, stiff as steel with the chill of death tingling up his spine as fear drives his heart to racing speeds, purposely not looking at the being who’s sheer presence is enough to leave him feeling like a tiny boy wishing to hide behind his mother’s skirts. He sits, and watches the scenery go by with unseeing eyes, praying to Talos for some miracle or another.

He prays for Skyrim, but mostly he prays for himself.

**Author's Note:**

> There are many things I could say about Skyrim, most of which would sound like a severe case of fan-girling. As I'm currently on my third play-through, it should be a given that I love the game. But when I first thought about writing my original character's interactions in Skyrim (female Bosmer named Andarial Amaryll), I came to the realization that writing a balanced character is a bit ...unrealistic. In Skyrim, the Dovahkiin is pretty much a Mary Sue/Gary Sue, regardless of what path you take. Depending on your quest choices, you become the Archmagus of Winterhold College, Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild, Listener (and leader) of the Dark Brotherhood, a bard of the Bard's College, the Harbringer of the Companions, Champion of 15 of the 16 Daedric Princes, Champion of 2-3 of the Nine Divines, Leader/Consultant of the Blades, a Thane in all 9 holds (and a VIP in Solstheim). You've done single-handedly won either the Stormcloak or the Imperial faction's war. You are the bane of Necromancers, Bandits, and random fuzzy bunnies all accross the continent. And with the Dragonbord extension, you can now tame and ride dragons. By the time you get to level 60 or so, unless you majorly stuffed it with your stat choices, you are pretty much untouchable. Everyone knows your name, and all either hate or love you. Half the continent would follow you into Oblivion, the other half want to put you there. 
> 
> So I got to thinking about stuff, and decided that, for as fun as this game is, there are still things that could be better - like maybe an add-on that would allow those playing through their third or fourth time to join Alduin as the first (and possibly only) of his new Dragon Priests and bring about the new Dragon supremicy. Or something. Because despite how evil your character may be, he/she still ends up saving the world. 
> 
> Which sucks.
> 
> But, anyway. This character was originally going to be the Dovahkiin found by either the descendents of the Dragon Priests and raised to be the next one, or an unknown-Dragon Priest who managed to truly ressurect herself. It quickly morphed when I started imagining that my character was merely a dragon in hiding, fighting against Alduin for reasons of her own.


End file.
